Thursday, July 30, 2015

A "No-Fly Zone" By Any Other Name - The "ISIL-Free Zone" In Syria

True to form, the US and Turkey are attempting to obfuscate the fact that their new agreement is the creation of a no-fly zone by renaming it an “ISIL-free zone.”
This is the same tactic used when the term “no-fly zone” and “buffer
zone” began to draw too much ire from observers only a year ago. Then,
the term became “safe zone.”
Now, the NATO powers are playing semantics yet again and deeming the
area an “ISIL-free zone” as if it were merely the unveiling of a new
soda minus a crucial ingredient.
The reality, however, is that the “ISIL-free zone” will be nothing more than a Forward Operating Base deeper into Syrian territory, working under the direct protection of the U.S. military and Turkish air force.
Turkey has long acted as a funnel and a conduit for ISIS crossing into
Syria, and the United States can be credited with the creation of the
terrorist organization entirely. With aid being provided to so-called
moderate rebels, the U.S. and Turkey have directly armed ISIS, funded
them, and provided them with the necessary logistics and intelligence to
conduct successful attacks in Iraq and Syria. U.S. airstrikes allegedly against ISIS in Iraq and Syria have likewise been questionable at best. U.S. airstrikes have largely targeted Syrian infrastructure, civilian areas, and Syrian food storage facilities. American airpower has been notorious for dropping supplies to ISIS and firing on the Iraqi military. ***Read full article here***